Best available cop



BEST AVAILAEL CCE A. LEMOINE. STEIKINC DEVICE FCE ELECTRIC AND CTHEE CLOCKS.

www es Patented Apr.18,1882.

Jr/wencv' BEST Avaitaste cos UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALPHONSE LEMOINE, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

STRIKING DEVICE FORKELECTRIC AND OTHER CLOCKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 256,709, dated April 18, 1882.

Application illu-d December 0, 1118i.

tiens, in combination with a connecting con-` ductor-strip, two insulutorcontact-springs, and

two contact-springs operated by an insulated pin mounted in the pendulum, the whole actuated to make aiid break an electric circuit a suitable number ot' times at the end oi' each hour and eause the sounding device to strike the hour, as described.

Figure 1 shows the elevation ot the mechanism, the plate being suppressed. Fig. 2 shows a section through the line 1 2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 shows the side view ot the mechanism. Fig. 4 represents the elevation oi' the striking. disk which is provided with the several contacts ofthe ditl'erent hours. Fig. 5 shows the front and sido elevations of the striking-disk which is provided with the contact acting only every hour.

In these il ures similar letters ot' reference indicate siml ar parts.

a is the plate, und b the counter-plate, upon which arejournaled the axles ottlier-.iock-work, which consists only of two pinions, cc', and two wheels, d d', the latter ot which is mounted on the minutes axle c. This clock-work is aetuated by the impulse imparted to the pendulum bythe electric current.

fis the ratchet, actuated by the pawlf ot the pendulum.

f is a spring preventing said ratchet from turning more than one tooth at a time.

g is the star-wheel which closes the circuit in the electro-magnet.

g is the contact-piece, mounted ou an insulated spring, g', which, when at rest, hears against an insulating-pia, g".

My striking device, acting without the aid ot any spring, consists et' two disks and two contacts which close at the required moment,

(No inodeLl Patented ln France tietulier 24. le'l.

an electric circuit in which is placed any suita ble sounding device-sucli as bell, spring, t\c.- the hammer otwliicli is nctifated by an electromagnet. The disk k is made of ivory, cbonite, or any ,other insulating material, and has attached to its periphery a metallic or conduct.- iiig segment, l, the length otwhicli is suilicient to close the electric circuit at every hour for space of time long enough te admit ot twelve strokes being made. The segment l is electrically connected with the clock-work by means ot a metallic strip` in, and thereby communicales with the metallic partot another disk, n, provided with circumferential projections p 65 and incloscd between two insulntingrings, q. The projections p are ot ditlerent lengths, so as to close tlievelectric circuit during the time necessary lor the striking ot one, two, three, four, t\",c., strokes. The peripheries ot both the disks k and nbear upon contact-springs r and s, respectively insulated l'roni the clockwork. 'lhe disk n is so driven that its eircumferential projections beur successively nt' every hour and in the proper order against the contact-spring s. This result may be obtained by causing the said disk n to make in an hour any number ot revolutions plus one-twelfth et' a revolution; but in order to simplify the gearing 1 generally preier to cause the disk to make any number of revolutions plus tive-twell'ths ot' arevolutlon,and for this purpose I iiiipnrt inotloii to said disk by means otl two toothed wheels. One wheel, t, having twenty-four teeth, is fixed to the disk, while the other, t', is fastened to the intermediate axle of the clock-work. The proper number ot' strokes is made by the pendulum, which is provided to this end with an ivory pin, u, pressing at each oscillation ot' 9o said pendulum upon a spring, v, forming one ot` the poles of the electric circuit, while the other pole is formed by another spring, c.

For instance, let us assume that during the passage ot the segment l upon the contact- 9 spring r the projection of the disk n corresponding to tive oclock passes upon the contact-spring s. The electric circuit, being close by both the disks, will be interrupted only l A the distance which separates the spring 'v fr the spring v. Therefore at each presser the springs e and v one on the other b eser Ava'irss'ts'ce act-ion of the pin u the circuit will be closed,

and one stroke of the bell placed in the said circuit will take place. The length of each projection p of the disk u being suitably calculated, the circuit will be closed for a space of time suilicient to allow of the striking of ihn hour marked by the hands on the dial.

I wish to remark that the above'mentioued result-i. c., the proper striking of hourswould he obtained also by cutting on each of the projections p a number of teeth equal to the number ofstrokes to be made for thel hour, to be struck correspondingly to said projection. ln this case the springs v and o' would be suppressed. The strokes would be produced by the successive make and break of the circuit eil'ccted bythe passage of said teeth on the contact-spring s. 'Nevertheless the above arrungenientneccssitatesless precision iu the pnt ting together of the clock and produces greater regularity in the striking of the hours. The mode of driving the disk n may, however, be vai icd without changing in any waythe nature oi' my invention.

In the drawings, X and Y are the conductors of the battery which maintains the movement ofthe clock-work. lfthe springs u and e nre used, as shown, the electrical connections are as follows: 'lhe wire W from one pole of the battery for the striking device is connected to the spring v', while another wire, V, connects the spring v with the contact r, so that the electric current flowsl into the strip m and passes b v the clock-work and the projections i ofthe disk n to the contact n, from which it is closed into the battery bythe return-wlreZ. The sounding device(which is not shown inthe drawings) is placed at any point of this electric circuit.

The striking device may also strike the halfhours and the quarterhours. lt will be readily understood that it would be suilicient for doing so to provide the disk n with twentyfour or forty-eight projections suitably calculated instead of twelve, and to add other conon the disks k and n and constantly press said disks backward. maintained always in the saine position and cannot interfere with the precision of the clock.

Although I have represented my invention as applied to an electric clock, it will be, nnderstood that it may also be applied to all spring-clocks ot'any deseription.or to any timepiece capable of driving the above-mentioned contact-disks.

One of my striking devices mounted on a clock allows of the simultaneous striking of the houis in the different apartments of a house or in other places. It is suflicient for this purpose to place in the electric circuit a suitable number of sounding devices.

I claim- A striking device for electric or other clocks, consisting of an insulated disk, k, provided with a conducting-segment, l, and a conducting-disk, n, having projections p, in combination with a connecting conductor-strip,m,two insulated contact-springs, r s, and two contactsprings, v v', operated by an insulated pin, u, mounted in the pendulum, the whole actuated to make and break an electric circuit a suitable number ot' times at the end ot euch hour and cause the sounding device to strike the hour, as described.

ALPHONSE LEMOINE.

Witnesses:

Roar. M. Hoeren, .JEAN BAPTISTE ROLLAND.

'lhe loose work is therefore 

